I’ll move myself and my family aside
If we happen to be left half alive
I’ll get all my paper and smile at the sky
For I know that the hypnotized never lie— The WHO
Posts Tagged ‘BLS’
Notes From Underground: We Won’t Be Fooled Again
May 14, 2014Notes From Underground: Good Grief, a Chinese Rating Agency Downgrades U.S. Debt
October 17, 2013Can a centrally directed economy spawn a neutral credit rating agency? Readers of NOTES have long been aware that I hold Chinese data releases in the lowest regard. My disdain is based on the inability of GOOGLE to operate freely in China and provide a forum for the “free” flow of ideas and critical thinking. There is no free and open society (Karl Popper). So I find it tragic that the markets paid attention to a downgrade of U.S. debt by the DAGONG rating agency. It is bad enough that the U.S. rating agencies are tainted by the desire for profits and are paid by the sell side of the street. But a sense that a Chinese rating agency could be independent of state influence is enough to upgrade the U.S. arbiters of credit … to well, AAA.
Notes From Underground: The Unemployment Data Was Almost as Disappointing as Europe
July 10, 2011Friday’s unemployment report revealed that Thursday’s ADP data was, again, a “FALSE POSITIVE.” The 157,000 ADP gain failed to show in the BLS numbers and all the Wall Street economists were caught off guard as they spent Thursday night ramping up their guesstimates to be more in-line with the private sector prognosticator. The initial response by the EQUITIES was to sell off as the lack of job growth undermines the recent S&P and DOW rally. At day’s end, the equities staged a rally and the loss on the day was small, especially relative to the strength shown early in the week.
Notes From Underground: Unemployment in the U.S.–Does Slowing Jobs Provide the FED With a Pause That Refreshes?
June 5, 2011The U.S. jobs report provided great support to the bears on Wall Street as the 54,000 nonfarm payroll number led to a sell off in the DOLLAR and another drop in the Dow, S&Ps and all other equity indexes. For all the equity down/dollar up analysts, last week was a breakdown of that temporary correlation. U.S. equities were down more than 2% for the week while the EURO was up 2.5%. It seems that the global financial community is becoming more concerned about a softening U.S. economy and what it will mean for the budget discussions and FED policy.